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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

For most, the UPM Alumni (PAUPM) pride would rekindle and strengthen their sense of belonging. Till this day the alumni are not just, Malaysia-based, from Perlis to Sabah or Kelantan to Sarawak, they traverse from as far as China to Iran and, Bosnia to Nigeria. UPM has come so far since its inception in the early 1930s, from a humble beginning as Sekolah Pertanian to its current mainstream presence as Universiti Putra. And from merely producing agricultural graduates it has produced thousands of engineers, food technologist, economists, MBAs, etc. It has even produced medical doctors. What is pleasantly `shocking' is that it has even churned out more than 400 aeronautical engineers. In short the former `sekolah pertanian' has availed teaching scopes that has touched the frontiers of science.

Tracing back its history, its growth certainly runs parallel to Malaysia’s industrialisation journey. Where were we before the era of electronics and automobile? If it weren’t for the systematic and methodical evolution and implementation of industrial crops such as rubber and oil palm, we would not have the `learning curve’ as a nation to move into the `heavy industry era. And this certainly has been attributed to the human capital inputs generated by UPM (since the sekolah pertanian days). UPM Alumni dominated giants such as Sime Darby, Felda, Tradewinds and the likes continue to dominate and contribute our national economy. Alumnus Tan Sri Rashdan Baba, Tan Sri Dato Dr Mohd Noor Ismail, the late Tan Sri Basir Ismail , and Dato Dr Aziz Abu Bakar (ARAB) are, to name a few of the technocrats, that have influenced corporate Malaysia.

As Alumni we are certainly full of pride for what UPM has done to the nation, and our lives. The SERDANG VILLE Blog is initiated as a platform for the PAUPM members to connect and interact. SERDANG - the cradle of National Development? Is offered as a starting provocation.